- Joined
- Aug 9, 2006
- Messages
- 718
Despite owning plenty of fixed blades, I still haven’t found the ‘right’ one. I wanted another fixed blade rather than needed one. It’s a strange phenomenon – you may have encountered it before. One of the problems it gives rise to is aligning requirements with knife features. Generally when I go out bush I leave most of the bush intact – I don’t need to clear forests or build cabins or leave a great trail of chopped up stuff to mark my passing. I rarely hunt these days and am not really big on survival or military themes. I mostly buy knives because I like knives. I still do some camping and fishing.
When it boils down I guess I did have a few key requirements. Firstly the fixed blade must be rugged enough to offer an advantage over a folder. Not too big – blade length is not critical but I don’t want a knife that lets me know constantly that it is there. Good quality steel that takes and holds a good edge. A solid sheath that securely retains the knife. Not that expensive or pretty that you are frightened to use it as a knife or paranoid about losing it. I didn’t want serrations or double edges or the so called tanto point.
The fixed blade I mostly carried quite some years ago was a Buck 105 Pathfinder. It is an early model in 440c. It’s not a knife that does anything exceptionally well but it can do most things adequately. The size and weight were right for me, though the grip was perhaps a little short. I particularly liked the full flap sheath which Buck unfortunately no longer offers.
The influence of websites and knife publications can’t be dismissed and over the past couple of years I have have been 'influenced' to buy and use a range of new fixed blade knifes. I tried Moras – cheap and adequate but ultimately disappointing for me, particularly in the edge holding department. One Scandi – a Helle Fjellkniven, was a favourite for a while and I still use it but I mostly regard it as a light duty knife. I moved through a series of Bark River knives. No real problems but they never felt quite right. I still user a Fox River on occasions but the rest have moved on. A Becker BK7, some K Bars and Ontarios were OK in their own right. A few Cold Steel fixed blades have come and gone. A Busse Active Duty got a work out for a while but I could never take to it. The thing was almost as wide as it was long (OK I exaggerate). Perhaps if I had acquired one of the thinner models I might have developed a more favourable view. I still own the AD but it rarely gets much use. Not long back I took delivery of a Randall #5 – it’s a great knife but really too big for my purposes. (Sorry if I’ve offended your favourite knife – it’s not my intent. It’s just the way it has worked out for me – the whole knife thing is very subjective). The Buck 105 has remained a fallback through all this and still gets a good workout. I have used it in a few pics as a reference point.
I have previously owned only 2 Benchmade knives. The first was a Pika, one of the economy lines. It was good value but paled next to the Spydercos that I already owned and used. Early this year I bought a Griptilian folder and have been really impressed with it. This led me to the Benchmade website to have a look at fixed blade offerings. There was a fixed version of the Grip that looked interesting but eventually I decided on the Acivator +.
The specs (from Benchmade) are:
Blade: 3.63in. LOA: 8.13in. Thickness: 0.14in. Steel: D2. Weight: 5oz.
The knife is full tang construction with scales described as stabilized winewood . There is a hole for attaching a lanyard.
The sheath is reddish brown leather, solidly constructed. It holds the blade securely but I personally don’t care for the style.
The Activator (centre) is shown next to the Griptilian folder and old Buck 105 for comparison. The dimensions of the Activator and Grip are very similar.
The Activator in its sheath next to the sheathed Buck 105. I much prefer the Buck sheath.
First impressions were favourable. The knife felt good in my hand and the grip was secure, if a little thin. The blade was shaving sharp. Appearance is a subjective thing but I liked its functional, economical style.
The scales appear to be attached with torx screws. A number six bit fitted but I was unable to budge the screws with reasonable hand pressure and decided to leave things alone. I cannot say whether the scales are meant to be detachable and would welcome any information from others who might have some information about this.
The grip is shown next to the Buck 105 for comparison. It is flat and thin compared with the 105.
Close up of the grips. The Activator is better suited to a large hand, despite its thinner grip.
I coloured the edge with a whiteboard marker and ran it against a Sharpmaker. One side was wiped clear immediately and the other just touched right on the edge, leaving most of the marker colour intact. Sharp maybe, but far from symmetrical.
It took me a couple of hours to get things right but I now have an edge that is symmetrical and very sharp. D2 is not that hard to deal with and I have had good experience with it in some Queens that I own.
I don’t have the attention span to methodically slice cardboard or cut rope and chart the progress of an edge. The knife has spent a week in the kitchen and has performed flawlessly for most tasks. Peeling apples and potatoes wasn’t that successful but slicing and chopping meat and vegetables was great.
The Activator was used to sharpen some sticks up to an inch thick. It did this easily and stayed sharp enough to peel the bark off and thinly off wood shavings afterwards. I used a piece of timber to hammer the blade through some thicker pieces and the edge came through without signs of damage. It still shaved hair after that but had lost that hair popping sharpness. The edge was functionally sharp and still capable of most tasks a knife could be called on to do.
I washed the blade in soapy water, dried it and gave it a half dozen strokes on the white rods of the Sharpmaker and was pleased with the result.
The spine of the knife is squared off and creates a good shower of sparks from a ferro rod.
Have I found my perfect knife? I don’t think so – but I like it and will give it an honest workout over the next few months. I am looking forward to using it on a big fish and also assessing its corrosion resistance over the pending tropical monsoon season.
The good – a robust knife with good steel and good cutting performance. Tough without being built like a railroad spike. Solid, secure leather sheath. Good value for the price.
Not so good – nothing major. The grip is a little thin. I don’t like the look of the sheath.
When it boils down I guess I did have a few key requirements. Firstly the fixed blade must be rugged enough to offer an advantage over a folder. Not too big – blade length is not critical but I don’t want a knife that lets me know constantly that it is there. Good quality steel that takes and holds a good edge. A solid sheath that securely retains the knife. Not that expensive or pretty that you are frightened to use it as a knife or paranoid about losing it. I didn’t want serrations or double edges or the so called tanto point.
The fixed blade I mostly carried quite some years ago was a Buck 105 Pathfinder. It is an early model in 440c. It’s not a knife that does anything exceptionally well but it can do most things adequately. The size and weight were right for me, though the grip was perhaps a little short. I particularly liked the full flap sheath which Buck unfortunately no longer offers.
The influence of websites and knife publications can’t be dismissed and over the past couple of years I have have been 'influenced' to buy and use a range of new fixed blade knifes. I tried Moras – cheap and adequate but ultimately disappointing for me, particularly in the edge holding department. One Scandi – a Helle Fjellkniven, was a favourite for a while and I still use it but I mostly regard it as a light duty knife. I moved through a series of Bark River knives. No real problems but they never felt quite right. I still user a Fox River on occasions but the rest have moved on. A Becker BK7, some K Bars and Ontarios were OK in their own right. A few Cold Steel fixed blades have come and gone. A Busse Active Duty got a work out for a while but I could never take to it. The thing was almost as wide as it was long (OK I exaggerate). Perhaps if I had acquired one of the thinner models I might have developed a more favourable view. I still own the AD but it rarely gets much use. Not long back I took delivery of a Randall #5 – it’s a great knife but really too big for my purposes. (Sorry if I’ve offended your favourite knife – it’s not my intent. It’s just the way it has worked out for me – the whole knife thing is very subjective). The Buck 105 has remained a fallback through all this and still gets a good workout. I have used it in a few pics as a reference point.
I have previously owned only 2 Benchmade knives. The first was a Pika, one of the economy lines. It was good value but paled next to the Spydercos that I already owned and used. Early this year I bought a Griptilian folder and have been really impressed with it. This led me to the Benchmade website to have a look at fixed blade offerings. There was a fixed version of the Grip that looked interesting but eventually I decided on the Acivator +.
The specs (from Benchmade) are:
Blade: 3.63in. LOA: 8.13in. Thickness: 0.14in. Steel: D2. Weight: 5oz.
The knife is full tang construction with scales described as stabilized winewood . There is a hole for attaching a lanyard.
The sheath is reddish brown leather, solidly constructed. It holds the blade securely but I personally don’t care for the style.
The Activator (centre) is shown next to the Griptilian folder and old Buck 105 for comparison. The dimensions of the Activator and Grip are very similar.
The Activator in its sheath next to the sheathed Buck 105. I much prefer the Buck sheath.
First impressions were favourable. The knife felt good in my hand and the grip was secure, if a little thin. The blade was shaving sharp. Appearance is a subjective thing but I liked its functional, economical style.
The scales appear to be attached with torx screws. A number six bit fitted but I was unable to budge the screws with reasonable hand pressure and decided to leave things alone. I cannot say whether the scales are meant to be detachable and would welcome any information from others who might have some information about this.
The grip is shown next to the Buck 105 for comparison. It is flat and thin compared with the 105.
Close up of the grips. The Activator is better suited to a large hand, despite its thinner grip.
I coloured the edge with a whiteboard marker and ran it against a Sharpmaker. One side was wiped clear immediately and the other just touched right on the edge, leaving most of the marker colour intact. Sharp maybe, but far from symmetrical.
It took me a couple of hours to get things right but I now have an edge that is symmetrical and very sharp. D2 is not that hard to deal with and I have had good experience with it in some Queens that I own.
I don’t have the attention span to methodically slice cardboard or cut rope and chart the progress of an edge. The knife has spent a week in the kitchen and has performed flawlessly for most tasks. Peeling apples and potatoes wasn’t that successful but slicing and chopping meat and vegetables was great.
The Activator was used to sharpen some sticks up to an inch thick. It did this easily and stayed sharp enough to peel the bark off and thinly off wood shavings afterwards. I used a piece of timber to hammer the blade through some thicker pieces and the edge came through without signs of damage. It still shaved hair after that but had lost that hair popping sharpness. The edge was functionally sharp and still capable of most tasks a knife could be called on to do.
I washed the blade in soapy water, dried it and gave it a half dozen strokes on the white rods of the Sharpmaker and was pleased with the result.
The spine of the knife is squared off and creates a good shower of sparks from a ferro rod.
Have I found my perfect knife? I don’t think so – but I like it and will give it an honest workout over the next few months. I am looking forward to using it on a big fish and also assessing its corrosion resistance over the pending tropical monsoon season.
The good – a robust knife with good steel and good cutting performance. Tough without being built like a railroad spike. Solid, secure leather sheath. Good value for the price.
Not so good – nothing major. The grip is a little thin. I don’t like the look of the sheath.
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